Avoid the urge to “tidy up” bulb plantings after bloom by tying the leaves with string or rubber bands. The six- week leaf dieback time is a critical “work period” for leaves busy with photosynthesis, storing food for the next year. The leaves must be free to soak up sunlight as much as they possibly can. If drying foliage seems unattractive, the best solution is camouflage. Interplant with hostas or other perennials with showy foliage. They will grow up and around fading bulb plants and disguise the drying leaves.

Remember that some bulbs (such as tulips and hyacinths) do not always come back strongly in subsequent years. If the cultivars you planted weren’t marked “good for perennializing,” then it’s probably best to treat them as annuals and compost or toss them after they bloom, replanting new bulbs next fall.Planting indoor forced bulbs in the garden after they’ve faded is never a sure thing. Tulips and ‘Paper White’ narcissus are better composted after they bloom indoors. Hyacinths might come back another year but will usually show smaller blooms.

Crocuses and daffodils, which are good at naturalizing, generally can be replanted outdoors after they’ve been forced to bloom indoors. Plant them in the garden as soon as they’ve finished flowering. Give them water and some slow-release fertilizer. Then wait until their leaves turn brown and die back before cutting them off at ground level. No guarantees, but there’s a good chance they’ll do fine and come back next year, especially if conditions for reblooming are generally good at your location.

Potted Easter lilies quite often do nicely if planted outdoors. Once the bloom has faded, remove the plant from its pot and plant it in a sunny but protected location where the soil has good drainage. Plant it a little deeper than it was positioned in the pot and water well. Give it a light sprinkling of slow- release fertilizer and let the foliage die back naturally. Use protective mulch in colder climates. Once established, Easter lilies bloom in mid-summer, during their normal flowering time.

—courtesy Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center

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Tim Lundie, Editor